Label-affixing apparatus



May 19, 1925. G. A. DosTAL LABEL AFFIXING APPARATUS Filed March 14, 192185% @awww u. ,S

" pose of illustration A'forms a part of a ma- Patented May 19, i925.

i UNiTEosrMEs y Parana orties..

GEORGE A. nOsTAL., OE NEW YORK, n. Y., Assreivon. To Morosini. soarMinturno- TUBING CORPORATION, OE NEW Yoan,

N. Y.; A CORPORATION OF NETW YORK.

LABEL-AEEIXING APPARATUS.

Application filed March` 14,

To all whom t may conce/11a:

Be it knowntliat l, GEORGE A. Dos'iAL, a citizen ofthe Unitec States,and resident of the borough of Manhattan, kcity and State of New York,have invented certain new and useful Improvementsin Label-AtlnixngApparatus, lof which the following is a specification. l

This invention relates to apparatus for altixing labels, and especiallyto apparatus for aliiiriiig labels to cakesV of soap inconiiection witha process bv which the labels are arlixed to one face of the soap cakesand that face is protected against wearing away by a coating of parailiniii such manner that the labels remain permanently attached to the soapduring use.

In accordancewith the said process the soap cake is provided with acoating of paratn upon one face, the paraffin being applied in meltedcondition. While the pari aflin is still soft and tacky the label isapplied to the coated face of the soap cake, the paraliin serving as anadhesive to secure the label. When the'label is applied to the hotparaffin there is a tendency for the label to wrinkle and fory bubblesto be entrapped between the label and the soap thus giving an unsightlyappearance to the soap cake. i

The present invention has for van object to provide improved apparatusfor smoothing out the wrinkles and vbubbles so that the labels will lieyflatand smooth against the soap cake.

The invention will be yfully described hereinafter and the features ofnovelty will be pointed out in the appended claims.y

ln the accompanying drawings which' illusti'ate airexample of theinvention without defining its limits, Fig. l is aiplan View of theapparatus; Fig. 2' isa side elevation tlicreof'and Fig. 3 is a detailsect-ion ou the line of lFig. l. v

The apparatus illustrated. in the drawing and'wliicli will be describedfor the purchine which automatically applies paraliin to one face of asoap cake, allixes a label to said face and applies more paraffin overthe `label to protect the same. Said machine .comprises parallel ways,conveyor meanswfor movingA soap cakes along said ways, tanks of hotparatlin beneath the ways and wicks in said tanlS of hot paraffin be-1921. Serial No. 452,148.

neatli the ways and wicks iii said tanks arranged to be engaged by thesoap cakes to apply parallin thereto as the soap cakes pass alongtlieways, together with a label-attiniiig mechanism arranged to apply alabel to each soap cake while the parafiin is ysoft and tacky. Anotherpart of such machine is described in my companion application forLetters Patent for apparatus for applying paral'hn to soapcakes tiledconcurrently herewith Serial No. 452,- 149. From the label-applyingrmechanism the soap cakes pass to thesmoothing mechanism hereinafterdescribed and which is designed vto smooth out the previously appliedlabels. This mechanism 'comprises a slideway, conveying means for movingsoap cakes along the slideway and a smoothing roll which is arranged topress the labels flat against the soap as it is moved along the slidewayby the conveying means.

The slideway is formed by two parallel ysupporting angle bars 5 which`areso spaced that-they engage the soap cakes only adj a cent'their sideedges, and which, if desired, may be made adjustable toward and fromeach other to accommodate soap cakes of different widths. i

The smoothing mechanism is shown as comprising a smoothing roll 6arranged to engage the label faceof each soap cake as it passes alongthe slideway. Conveniently this roll may be so positioned as to engagethe underside ofthe soap cake which is so tui-ned that the vlabel faceis presented downward `to the roll'. A weighted pressure roll 7, or itsequivalent, is preferably provided to press the soap cakes against theroll 6 to insure satisfactory operation. The' Vpressure roll in theillustrated example is.

rotatably supportedv on arms 8 pivoted to permit' tree movement towardand from thel smoothing ioll'; adjustable stop screws 9 are pi'eterablyprovided for limiting the-down yward movement oftho'arins 8 and pressurerollf carried thereby and for adjusting the fpositi'oii ofsaid pressureroll 7 relatively to the roll 6.4 The smoothing roll 6 is preferablyheated` sothat if the para-Hin between `the label and the soapcake hashardened it willbe sutliciently heated `and softened by the roll 6 topermit the -label to be readily ironed smooth. It is also desirable toprovide a coating'of paratlin between the. roll 6 and the label to'serve as a lubricant during the action of the roll will be a thesmoothing operation and to provide a protective coat over the label.

The pressure roll 7 may be idle but preferably is driven in a directionand at a speed corresponding to the travel of the soap akes through themachine. The. smoothing roll (i may be driven at any desired speed andin either direction. I prefer to so drivel this roll that it will havesubstantially the same surface speed as the soap cake so that pressingaction rather than a rubbing action. There is thus little or no tendencyfor the roller to displace the label upon the soap cake.

As shown the smoothing roll shaft- 10 may be positively driven by asprocket 11 and sprocket chain 12 from a suitable source of power as forexample the main power shaft of the machine. The pressure roll shaft 14may be driven through suitable gearing so arranged as to drive. the rollin the desired direction and so arranged as not to interfere with thevertical movement of the roll as the roll moves to acconnnodate soapcakes of different thicknesses. As shown a sprocket gearing is providedcomprising the sprocket chains 15, 1G a pair of intermeshing gears 17,1S and sprocket wheels connected with the gears and With the shafts 10and lelrespectively.

The heating of the smoothing roll G and the provision of a coat ofparaffin may be. accomplished as shown by arranging` a tank 19 of hotparaffin in contact with Which the roll 6 rotates. The heat of theparaffin is transmitted to the roll and a coat of paraiiin sufficientfor1 the intended purpose is picked up by the roll during its rotation.

The soap cakes are moved along the slide- Way by conveyor belts 2Omounted on suitable pulleys 21, 22 and arranged in co-operating pairsand spaced from each other in the direction of feed as shown in Fig. 1.These belts are arranged to engage only the side edges of the cakes andtherefore do not rub against the labels, and because of the spacedarrangement do not engage a soap cake at the time it is beine operatedupon by the smoothing means.

This provision facilitates the arrangement of the rolls G and byproviding a free space where the rolls may be located withoutinterference with the belts. Guides 23. 24 are provided along theslideivay to bridge the gaps between contiguous conveyor belts 20. Theseguides and the ways are recessed to avoid interference with thesmoothing and pressure rolls 6 and 7 as indicated at 25 and 26 in Fig.2.

The conveyor belts 20 are driven by any suitable means as for example bymeans of horizontal shafts 27 extending above and parallel to theslideway and operatively connected with vertical shafts 2S by means ofbevel gears 29. the vertical shafts 28 carrying the pulleys 21 ove'which the conveyor belts 20 travel.

The horizontal shafts 27 may be operatively connected with a cross shaft3() by bevel gears 31 to be driven in unison from a suitable source asfor example from a main power shaft of the machine.

In the operation of the apparatus the cakes of soap are carried forwardby the conveyor belts 20 and pass over and rnb against a Wick 32standing in a tank 33 of melted paratlin, cach cake being pushed beyondthe gaps between contiguous pairs of conveyor belts 2O by successivecakes which remain in contact with the last previous pair of belts. Inorder to prevent deviation of the cakes from the intended path guides3i', similar to the guides 23 and 2t, may be provided betivcen the belts2O at the point Where the ivick 32 is lacated. It will be noted that thearrangement is such that during the time a soap cake is in engagementivith the wick 32 it. is not engaged by the belts 20. As many coats ofparaffin as desired may be applied by passing the soap cakes oversuccessive Wicks. In the appa- 'atus illustrated the paraiiin in thetanks is heated as for example by electric resistance coils 34, 35, itbeing understood that any other suitable type of heating device may besubstituted if desired. An overflov.v connection 36 may be provided fromthe tank 33 to the tank 19 which is on a loiver level, and at the sametime suitable provision may be made for constantly introducing a freshsupply of hot paraffin to the upper tank. After passing over the Wick 32the cakes of soap are picked up by the belts 2O located beyond said Wickin the direction of feed, and are carried along thereby and finally arecaused to pass between the rolls G and 7. The latter roll serves tomaintain the soap cakes in proper contact with the sn'ioothing roll (lwhich flattens out the label and by its action eradicates any bubbles,Wrinkles or other defects which may have developed during or after theapplication of said label. At the same time at least a portion of theparaffin carried by the roll G is transferred to the label in the formof a protecting` coatcovering the same. 'lhe result of this is aperfectly smooth label covered with paratlin and free from any blemishesresulting from the application of said label to the cake. V.Mter thesoap cakes leave the smoothing device an additional coating of paraffinmay be applied to still further cover and protect the face of the label.

It is to be understood that the embodiment shown is illustrative onlyand that variations in the construction illustrated may be made Withinthe scope of the claims Without departing from the spirit of theinvention.

yconveying means for moving forward sncf cessively soap cakes havinglabels applied to the center portions of one face thereof,

wa 7s su ortino said soa cakes ad'acent their side edges withoutcontacting with the center face portions to which the labels areapplied, and a smoothing device arranged f to press against the labeledface of each cake as it travels past said device substantially as andfor the purpose described.

2. In an apparatus of the character die! scribed, in combination,feeding means forV moving forward successively soap cakes having labelsapplied to one face thereof, a rotatable smoothing roll arranged to bearagainst the labeled face of each soap cake as it passes Vsaid roll andpress the label smooth against the soap cake, a weighted roll yieldablymounted above the smoothing roll, ymeans for limiting the downwardmovement of the weighted roll, means for driving the two rolls whilepermitting vertical movement of ther weighted roll and means for heatingand lubricating said smoothing roll substantially as and for the purposedescribed. v

3. In apparatus f the character described in combination, spacedparallel ways arranged to support, adjacent their side edges soap cakesbearing centrally positioned labels free of contact with the ways,

conveyor means for moving the soap cakes along said ways, an ironingroll over which said soap cakes pass, a weighted roll mounted forvertical movement above the ironing roll and arranged to yieldably holdthe soap cake down against the ironing roll, a tank arranged to holdparaiiin in contact with said ironing roll, means for heating theparaliin to maintain it and the roll in heated condition whereby thelabels are ironed smooth against the soap cakes and a coating ofyparaffin is applied by said ironing roll.

4. The method of smoothing labels afliXed to soap cakes by parafiinwhich consists in ironing the labels by means of a` heated lubricatedrotating rollv substantially as described. l

5. The method of aiiixing labels to soap cakes which comprises applyingthin coats of hot par aifin successively to the soap cake whilerthe soapcalze is in relatively cold condition, subjecting such successive coatsto radiant heat during the interval of time between the application lofa coat and the next -succeeding coat whereby each coat is cooled fromthe interior While having its outer face maintained relatively soft,applying a label after the last coat while still in tacky condition andapplying a further coat of paraffin thereover. f

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand.

GEORGE A. nosTAL.

